tdog.blog

Problem: Streetman Homes needed an updated look and an easy-to-manage web site.
Solution: We gave them a new fresh look and a powerful CMS.
URL: http://www.streetmanhomes.com

Streetman Homes is a builder of beautifully designed and crafted homes. They have nearly a dozen communities in Austin TX, each of which consist of homes with distinctive layouts and appointments. When our team went on an impromptu tour of various communities we were struck by the friendly staff, amazing locations, and truly open and innovative home layouts. Everything, down to the type of tile used in the master bathrooms, spoke of unerring quality and focus on the customer.

When we saw all that, the project manager and I both said, “Their current web site doesn’t do them justice!” So we set out to create a web presence that would give prospective customers a way to peak in through the window, so to speak, and view the beauty and craftmanship offered by the Streetman brand.

When we worked closely with Blake Houston (COO) and Tina Blanton, they told exactly where they needed their new web site to take them. They really needed a streamlined approach to keeping their online information up to date, and they needed an easy way to integrate with the good folks at NewHomeSource.com, where they listed their home inventory.

After performing the initial install and laying in our new design, we spent half a day training the necessary folks and setting up their new email addresses (the move to our CMS required new hosting to support PHP/MySQL). Since the initial launch in Summer 2005, we’ve made various tweaks to software and design and are in the process of helping them formulate ideas for other interactive promotions.

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The MarketingSherpa folks have published over 500 case studies on various facets of email- and interactive marketing. The good folks at Search Engine Radio provide a fascinating 3-part series where she talks about some of their findings on landing pages (just fast forward through the commericals!).

Complete series.

Some notes on what I’ve learned:

• The first 300 vertical pixels are critical. Studies show that the less junk you put there (like heavy graphical banners, large logos, and other eyecandy) the more you’ll be able to sell. A simple headline that mirrors the ad or email promotion they received along with a convincing offer outpulls most design-heavy approaches.
• Asking visitors to add a product to their cart outpulls “buy now”.
• It’s okay to upsell and cross-sell, but wait to upsell until the visitor gets to the shopping cart or thank you page. Or, send them an email in a few days with a targeted promotion.
• The most-read copy on the page will be any words that have blue underline under them! We’ve been trained to mean that this is a link on the web, but even before the web, underlining means “IMPORTANT”. Guess what? If you’re a design agency that routinely removes underlining from links, you’re doing damage to your clients. STOP IT.
• People buy from people. Landing pages with pictures of people outperform landing pages without pictures of people.
• In a lot of cases, two- and three-column layouts are inferior in terms of sales to a simple one-column layout. A very simple letter-like landing page usually outpulls a much fancier approach.
• Remove navigation, or relegate navigation to “under the fold.” This will lower confusion among visitors.
• Large type outpulls small type. Stop being afraid of scrolling! Tell your designers to stop using microfonts.
• Stop using wide pages. When you hit 50 to 60 characters, move to the next line!
• Simplify your landing page URL. www.yoursite.com/tvoffer is much easier to keep in mind.

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Problem: Austin Non Profit Organization needed a way to keep their web site updated.
Solution: We donated TopDog and set them up with cheap hosting.
URL: http://healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org/

Our good friends at Time Warner introduced us to the folks at HAAM (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians). They were in desperate need of a web site they could easily update. They also needed a clean new look.

Well, we unleashed Nicole on them. She created three or four beautiful layouts that would work well in a dynamic environment. Then we installed the core system, which gave them control over users, file uploads, pages, press releases, news items, and more, and included a scheduler and message center for content worker collaboration.

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Thomas Davenport spells out some common attributes of knowledge work (and workers):

1. Knowledge Workers like Autonomy
2. Specifying the detailed steps and flow of knowledge-intensive processes is less valuable and more difficult than for other types of work.
3. “You can observe a lot by watching.”
4. Knowledge workers usually have good reasons for doing what they do.
5. Commitment matters.
6. Knowledge workers value their knowledge, and don’t share it easily.

The bottom line? Knowledge work is hard to model, and knowledge workers are more independent and secretive then workers in other industries. That’s why you have to watch closely if you want to replicate or improve processes.
Read it all here.

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David goes over the issues and challenges related to corporate blogging. A worthwhile listen, especially for any organizations trying to learn the rules of this new medium live in front of an audience.

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